Kidnappings Continue in Gulf of Guinea

The Gulf of Guinea witnessed a continuation of the high levels of piracy seen in the first quarter of the year as 14 attacks occurred off the Niger Delta in April alone, resulting in the kidnapping of 10 crew from three vessels, according to data released by UK’s maritime intelligence and operations company Dryad Maritime.

News ID: 67920

Date: 01 August 2016 - 11:24

According to MANA, Attacks by pirates in the Nigerian EEZ stopped in mid-May, however, the string of attacks was continued in early July following fresh attacks off Bayelsa State, which resulted in the kidnapping of the captain and chief engineer from the support vessel MV Prince Joseph 1.
Southeast Asia saw a 66% reduction for the half yearly total when compared to the first six months of 2015.
Dryad’s latest data show that 68 crew were kidnapped so far in 2016, while 7 people were killed. The estimated total number of crew currently in captivity is 61